Top 10: Movie Montages

Number 3

Rocky

Song: “Gonna Fly Now” by Bill ContiType: Training montage

Just about every Rocky film has a training montage that uses this disco-tinged song as its theme, but the original montage in the Oscar-winning Rocky is rock solid. Beginning with a run through an industrial wasteland and into a Philadelphia slum, Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) moves into a training gym to do a few one-armed push-ups, then into a meat locker to practice his uppercut on a beef shank. Then, to round out the montage, Rocky returns to the streets, passes by a shipyard and climbs the steps of Philadelphia’s Museum of Art, raising his arms in victory. All in all, it tells a good story about Rocky’s familiarity with the streets (by day, Rocky works for a loan shark collecting debts), and his dream of rising in the world by turning himself into a boxing champion.

Number 2

Scarface

Song: “Scarface (Push it to the Limit)”Type: Rise to power montage

Like the Rocky montage, the Scarface montage is full of foreshadowing details. At the outset, we see Tony Montana (Al Pacino) with various business associates, shaking hands and counting money. At this point in the film, Tony has achieved the perversion of the American Dream, having gone from rags-to-riches by killing and trafficking drugs. Everything seems to be on the up-and-up, but there are signs of impending destruction. The song, “Scarface (Push it to the Limit)” suggests that Tony doesn’t know how to keep things from spiraling out of control. Also, at the end of the montage, the close-up of Tony’s new bride snorting coke, drinking booze, smoking a cigarette, and looking shaky suggests that the Montanas may not live happily ever after.

Number 1

Rocky IV

Song: “The Training Montage” by Vince DiColaType: Training montage

Unquestionably, the Rocky franchise has provided the industry standard for montages. No other films in recent memory have conveyed as much information through their montages. In Rocky IV, the Cold War has come to the boxing ring. It is Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) versus Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren); it is American desire versus Russian strength; it is man versus machine.

In this training montage set to a synth-heavy beat, the heavily edited images shift back-and-forth between Rocky, who is training outside in the Russian wilderness, and the robotic Drago, who is training on machines in an American gym. Visually, this is an exceptional sequence of mirroring images, juxtaposed by their contrasting settings.

the build-up

The purpose of a movie montage is to motivate the viewer into cheering for the film’s hero because he is the champion of something that is good. Like writing in point form, an effective montage gives us enough of the right details to tell a little story, without taking ages to convey the information. Its fast pacing should also fuel the viewer’s adrenaline, so that we’re ready to cheer for victory in the ensuing scene.